It’s A Hit – KPop Demon Hunters (Movie Review)

“They sing. They dance. They battle demons.

When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey aren’t selling out stadiums, they’re using their secret powers to protect their fans from supernatural threats.” – Letterboxd Synopsis

From some of the animators behind Spider-Verse comes this really fun and charming movie about KPop demon hunters. From the trailers, I knew what this movie was going to be, and you know what? It was exactly that, and that’s fine. This movie was exactly what I expected, fun with great action and really good music. Actually, the music is way better than I thought it would be. Some of these songs have gone into my rotation.

It’s funny how this movie is exactly what the title says. The three main characters are big KPop stars in a group called Huntrix who secretly fight demons that threaten the world. They are the new defenders of the world who use music to not only fight demons but strengthen the barrier between both worlds. Which is really cool and opens up a lot of interesting lore possibilities. It’s a cool story foundation. It’s very cheeky how the demons, mainly Jinu, conjure the plan to use music against Huntrix. To steal their fans, to steal their souls. It’s cheeky, it’s cool, it’s fun. There’s also some subtext about idols and fandom, but it’s really just there as a connection. This movie isn’t about any of that at all, really. It’s about KPop demon hunters and accepting yourself, forgiveness, and amazing music. All of that makes this a very comfy watch.

All the characters in this movie are fun. Very tropey, and predictable with their behaviors and character arcs, but they’re fun and they feel like friends. I enjoyed the dynamic between Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. Rumi is the main character and lead singer of the group. She was interesting enough to carry the movie, especially with her relationship with the demon Juni. Who, for my money, was the best character. He was interesting. He looked cool. The Saja Boys’ songs were the best in the movie (especially the last one), his abilities were cool, and so was his backstory. They both go through their respective arcs of Rumi accepting what she is, and Jinu accepting what he did in a past life. None of these characters are revolutionary, but again this movie accepts it’s tropeyness, plays into it, and in turn these characters were really funny and enjoyable with some moments that did hit.

This was way more of a musical than I was expecting. The music in this movie is woven into the scenes very well. It really worked the way not only the songs themselves progress in their tone and messaging but also how they line up with the fight scenes that visually looked stunning. The choreography was on point too. I absolutely love the art style and animation. It’s almost like animated stop motion with a normal frame rate. It looks great. The character designs are very cool and lean heavy into Korean culture and pop culture, which is dope. The use of color in the triumphant moments and the sadder moments. They nailed it. This movie is visually and audibly a treat. Songs like Soda Pop, Takedown, and Your Idol, have been in my rotation all week.

So yeah, KPop Demon Hunters is everything the name says it is. This movie knew what it was, I knew what it was going to be, and I came out of watching this very satisfied. This is a really good movie that, if I ever wanted to, I could just throw on and enjoy the music, animation and the fun characters. I had a great time watching this, and judging by the track views on YouTube and the dancing trends, this movie has gone viral. I’m loving the TikToks and the fan art. It’s a hit for sure.

KPop Demon Hunters – 9/10

Notes – It’s been days since I watched this and Sugar Pop and Your Idol have been stuck in my head. The Saja Boys were really cooking something crazy with those.